“Water & Power” Rich and Poetic

By Annabella Campos

The film Water and Power which was adapted and directed by the very talented Richard Montoya premiered this past weekend at the 2013 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) to a full house. Adapted from a stage production by Montoya which premiered in 2006 at the Mark Taper Forum, the film can best be described as a cautionary tale about two brothers who deal with power very differently.

Twin brothers nicknamed “Water” and “Power” from the hard scrabble Eastside streets of Los Angeles rise like princes through the city’s political and police ranks to become players in a complex and dangerous web of the powerful and corrupt of Los Angeles. One a decorated cop – the other a senator, find themselves in a seedy motel room on the eastern edge of Sunset Boulevard on a dark and rainy night. Something has gone very wrong. Can Power exist without Water? The Fixers and Powers of the city need answers. Everybody is looking for the Twins.

The performances by Nicholas Gonzalez, Enrique Murciano, and Emilio Rivera are outstanding. Their performances successfully deliver the film’s well crafted metaphors. Water and Power is visually rich and a poetic masterpiece.

Originally developed as a stage play by Richard Montoya of comedy and stage company, Culture Clash. The stage-play originally Premiered in 2006 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Water and Power won the Los Angeles Theatre Critics’ Circle and Ovation Awards for Best New Play. The project was subsequently developed at the Sundance Writer Lab in January 2007 and was work-shopped at the Sundance Directors Lab that same year.

In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Montoya explained that adapting the play to film was rough because theatre is a medium of language, while cinema is a visual medium. The entire film captures amazing visuals that successfully show the perspective of life in the east side of Los Angeles. From the Los Angeles landscape at the beginning of the film to the delivery of the final act, the audience present at the premiere was completely engaged. The film has a vivid heart beat that is undoubtedly sophisticated and human.

Be part of the power by supporting this film. Water and Power will be released in theatres in May 2014.

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